Why Homesteading is Becoming a Trend, and Why We Want to Homestead Too!

In my ‘about me‘ page, I state that; “The word ‘Homestead‘ has been meant to mean a lot of different things over the years. Here in America, to own a Homestead used to mean that the government paid you money to uproot your family and move out West to live off the land. It was an attempt to get the American people spread out over more land so that America government could expand their territory. Today however, the meaning of ‘Homesteading’ has become a term that can mean anything from; living off the land in a hut and growing your own food, to someone who lives in town and grows a small garden on their windowsill.”

I also go onto say; “What homesteading means to me: When I use the word ‘Homesteading’, I think of living off the land. I think of how life used to be here in America (and how it still is in a lot of other countries). Where if something is broke, you fixed it. If you were hungry, you walked out to the garden and pick yourself a snack. And if you wanted something, you made it. In a world where technology and buying/selling rule the world, I hope that someday we can get back to basics. Back to raising animals, growing gardens, bartering goods with neighbors, and buying local.”

I wrote that nearly six years ago, and I still hold it to be true as I write my blog posts today. And since I just announced the amazing news that we just bought our homestead, here are 11 reasons we want to homestead, and why other people are switching to that lifestyle too!

1. To Grow a Better Quality of Food.

Growing food not only gives us a better appreciation for the food we get at the store, but it also allows us to learn where it comes from!
You know that soup you buy in a can? You learn really quick how much time and energy goes into growing those carrots, corn, and green beans! You also learn how much time and money go into growing chickens for their meat and eggs, as well as the process of butchering, plucking, and cutting up those chickens for food.
Because of this knowledge, we also know that any animals we raise ourselves are going to have a MUCH better life than the ones that are raised just for slaughter in the big animal farms. We also know that it tastes much better too!

2. To Become More Self Sufficient!

2020 had an amazing effect on us all. It opened our eyes to how fast the grocery stores run out of food, it opened our eyes to the world around us, and how we interact with our communities and our fellow neighbors. We gardened, we horded food for ourselves, and we helped our neighbors who had less than us, bartering when we could, and giving when we needed, just to help each other out.
My fiancé and I want to know that we can put food on the table if anything happens like that again. And we want to know that we can help take care of our families and neighbors if anything were to happen.

3. To Stop Relying on the Government.

As stated above, 2020 taught us the truth about what happens when there is no one to take care of us. And not to sound like a ‘conspiracy theorist’, but the government isn’t going to take care of us if something bad happens world wide. A lot of people have switched to homesteading as a way to go ‘off the grid’ to get away from government aid. Of course, our reasons for homesteading stems a bit from this too, as we don’t ever want to worry about how the government is going to help us if another pandemic hit like in 2020. But we aren’t building bunkers under the house and stockpiling twenty year’s worth of food and toilet paper in it. (Not that you’re aware of anyways.. 😏)

4. People Love Homesteading/Cottage Core Aesthetic!

With more and more people going to the homesteading lifestyle, a common thing that has been popping up around the internet is Homesteading or Cottage Core Aesthetic. It has now become a ‘trend’ to live in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, growing your own food, and living like a Disney Princess in the forest.
Now, I’ll admit that I am subscribed a few YouTube channels that promote the ‘Homesteading Aesthetic’, but I also know that those videos they show are only a small fraction of how these people actually live their lives. They never show the hard times, or the bad stuff, of the mistakes they make along that way.
And that’s the appeal for a lot of people! Which is fine, if it gets people looking in that direction and doing their research on become a homesteader, more power to them! But there are also people who sell everything they have, move to the middle of nowhere, and find out they hate it. So it’s a double edge sward, just like anything that’s ‘trendy’ on the internet. ⚔️

5. To Always Be Learning Something New!

One great thing about homesteading is that you’re always learning something new! Even if you’ve grown up in the homesteading lifestyle, and you’ve been doing it for years with kids of your own, you’re always learning something new! Whether it’s a new tip or trick for harvesting carrots during the wintertime, you find a new flower to grow that you’ve never tried before, or you decide to try your hand at raising a new animal. There are plenty of new things you can learn from this way of life, and if you so wish, you will never stop learning!
I personally love to learn new things! I love talking to people at my job about chickens, and gardens, and hearing all of the tips and tricks they have to share. It’s an endless supply of knowledge and I soak it up like a sponge!

6. It Makes Me Feel Like I’m Doing Something!

I get tired of waking up, going to work, coming home, going to bed, and doing it all over again the next day! Day, after day, after day… It gets exhausting when you feel like you’re never working towards anything!
With homesteading, however, you’re always working towards something! Whether you’re waiting for veggies to grow, waiting for your animals to get bigger, or waiting years for your homemade wine/cheese to age, you’re working towards something other than ‘making money for the man’.
I don’t want to just go to work and go home, I want to work towards something bigger than that! And for me, my favorite part is watching my gardens grow into big, beautiful, vibrant gardens that I can harvest throughout the Summer and Autumn!

7. It Gives Me Time Outside!

I love the fact that gardening and taking care of animals gives me time outside! When I don’t have those things to constantly bring me outside, I don’t realize just how much time I spend inside doing absolutely nothing!

8. It’s A Healthier Way to Live.

Whether we’re trying to live healthier because of a New Years resolution, or because of an existing health issue, homesteading is traditionally a ‘healthier’ way to live. When you’re growing your own food with no chemicals, raising your own meet with no growth hormones, and spending all day soaking up Vitamin D from gardening out in the sun. Of course it’s going to be healthier for you! Of course, some people aren’t able to do this due to existing health issues. But for me, I notice that I get sick a lot less when I’m outside in the gardens and eating healthy homemade/homegrown food. Gardening was not only a stress relief for me, but being outside helped keep me moving and healthier. ❤

9. For the Love of Gardening!

It all starts with a garden… And just as if you give a mouse a cookie; if you give a gardener some seeds, they’re going to want a garden. And if they start a garden, they’re going to want to start a compost for that garden. And if they start a compost, they are going to want some animal poop for that compost, and then they’ll buy a chicken. And if they get a chicken, they will want 20 chickens. And if you have 20 chickens, you’re going to want to give them garden scraps. And in order to get garden scraps, YOU’RE GOING TO NEED A GARDEN!

10. Going Back to Basics!

A big reason why people homestead is because they want to get back to the basics of what life used to be like. Where you made your own bread, mended your own clothes, and grew your own food. A huge part of homesteading is being able to do things for yourself, and part of that is re-learning what our grandparents already knew and did 40 years ago. Not only are people looking to do this for themselves, but people are hoping to teach their families and the next generation how to do stuff for themselves as well. Which brings us to our last one..

11. To Raise Our Kids to Be Self Sufficient!

Many people switch to homesteading so that their children can learn from it as well. And that’s exactly one of the reasons we want to live this way. We want our children to grow up learning strong work ethics, hard life lessons, and survival skills that could someday save their lives if anything were to happen. Growing up on a homestead isn’t always easy, but we think that it’s worth it! The kids get to learn about the circle of life firsthand as they watch a chicken hatch and eat that same chicken for dinner down the road. They learn where food comes from, where to grow it, how, and why. There is so much that kids need to learn in this world, and we want our kids to grow up learning the world from Mother Earth herself. 🌎

Obviously, there are tons of reasons people start homesteading. These are just a few reasons why we are excited to start ours, and the reasons we have seen other people start theirs. If you’re a fellow homesteader, comment below on why you started your homestead, I’d love to hear all the different reasons we switch to this amazing way of life. ❤

If you’d like to save this to your Pinterest for further reading, share using the picture below! And as always, smile, have an amazing day, and go grow a garden! 👩‍🌾🍎🫐🥕